Finnish Rally Championship 2024 - Experience world-famous stages at the home of rallying
Titled as the the world’s toughest national rally championship, Finnish Rally Championship (FRC) continues to attract international talents in 2024. The season will again offer seven high quality events to experience the best stages in the world.
The seven events of the Finnish Rally Championship are spread across the year with the first three events starting the season during the cold winter time, the next three showcasing the best of gravel roller coasters around the country in the summer and the season finale culminating the championship fight amidst the colours of autumn. The competitors will get to experience both snow and gravel roads, all equally fast and flowing but with each event having their own unique characteristics.
The 66th season of the Finnish Rally Championship begins in January, with the return of the classical season opener of Riihimäki in southern Finland. After many years of hosting the start of the season, the magical Arctic Lapland Rally with its demanding icy roads amid the rough wilderness of Lapland has moved back to the start of February to better accommodate international competitors and teams eyeing to continue directly to the Swedish round of the World Rally Championship nearby soon after.
The winter season is concluded by an all new event to the championship at the low-lying lands of the Ostrobothnia region near the western coast. Rally headquarters are located in the village of Tuuri, known as the home of the largest shopping mall in Finland.
The summer season is kicked-off on the south-west coast when Turku hosts the fourth event at the end of May. From there the championship makes a return to southern Osthrobothnia, when Rally Pohjanmaa is run in mid-June. The traditional rally is also known for being part of the FIA ERT series, bringing more international color to the summer.
After a two-month summer break, it's time for the Lahti Historic Rally, part of the FIA European Historic Rally Championship and for the third time simultaneously hosting the Finnish Rally Championship event. The wonderfully international event amidst the romantic farmlands and jumpy dark forests around the Lahti region attracts competitors in the most beautiful cars from all eras from across Europe.
The season finale is the second all new event to the championship taking place on the famous rollercoaster roads of the very eastern border region in northern Finnish Karelia. The rally is centered around the town of Kitee, which is certain to provide the participating crews with an authentic experience of rural Finland.
The Finnish Rally Championship is living its renaissance with strong lineups of entries in all classes. No big changes are planned for the current successful concept, where the classes closely follow the international FIA rally pyramid. The headline class of SM1 is competed with the Rally2 cars used also in the WRC2 championship. SM2 is reserved for the WRC3 and Junior WRC designated Rally3 cars. Going further down the FIA rally pyramid the next step is the two-wheel-drive Rally4, which makes up the SM3 class.
The final two classes in the championship are focused on nationally regulated cars, with SM4 being the one for 1.6 litre highly standardized V1600 cars and the SM5 enabling a little older or less standard four-wheel-drive cars the likes of N/FIN-N, FIN-R4WD, N-Lite, R-Lite, S2000, FIN N5 and Rally2 Kit classes.
As the home of rallying it is of no wonder there are multiple professional rally teams operating in Finland, which can provide international drivers with all inclusive packages with everything from renting cars to handling accommodations as well as more simple servicing options for competitors arriving with their own vehicles.
The series promoter Mika Heinonen welcomes all international drivers warmly and wishes to see ever growing number of foreign competitors taking up the challenge of the best special stages in the world. And in turn, hopes to see the Finnish drivers boldly enter international events.
"The Finnish Rally Championship is living golden years again and we have a wonderful lineup of events, drivers and cars. The number of participating Rally2 cars is high on all standards and the Rally3 and Rally4 classes provide a tough level of competition for everyone."
"We also wish to see more cooperation within the community of national championships, with drivers participating in events across countries and creating even higher quality championships everywhere, Heinonen lays out his vision for the development of national rallying in Finland and abroad."
All the Finnish Rally Championship events will be broadcasted live on YouTube and recap programs are shown on national television the day after. Read more and up-to-date details on the championship at www.rallism.fi.
AKK brings the Flying Finn Future Star back for the 2024 season
Finland is famous for its internationally successful rally drivers - both in past years, today, and hopefully in the future as well. In 2014, the organizer of the Finnish World Rally Championship event, AKK Sports Oy, established a project to identify promising rally drivers in order to accelerate the path of young talents towards an international breakthrough and the top of the world.
Due to the pandemic, the project had to be stopped, but AKK has decided to restart the project for 2024.
As the project's main prize, the winner is offered participation in the 2024 Secto Rally Finland. The winner gets to show his skills on the legendary gravel roads of the Finnish World Rally Championship event with a complete competition package, including M-Sport's Ford Fiesta Rally3 car and a service package: tires, fuel, participation fees, a test before the rally, training and coaching, as well as consulting for managing PR and media relations.
The best young driver is selected through success in the Finnish Rally Championship series and the selection is targeted at those Finnish competitors up to the age of 25 who drive the series in the 2024 season with Ford Fiesta Rally3, Rally4 or with a similar Ford manufactured rally car.
Previous winners of the Flying Finn Future Star program include e.g. Teemu Suninen, Jari Huttunen, Emil Lindholm, Sami Pajari and most recently Lauri Joona in 2020. All of them have already made an international breakthrough or are on the verge of it.
2024 Finnish Rally Championship calendar
1. SM Auto Sorsa Riihimäki-Ralli: 12.-13.1. Riihimäki
2. 59th Arctic Lapland Rally: 1.-3.2. Rovaniemi
3. SM Tuuri Ralli: 8.-9.3. Alavus
4. SM Mad-Croc Länsirannikon Ralli: 24.-25.5. Turku
5. SM Pohjanmaa Ralli: 14.-15.6. Seinäjoki
6. Lahti Historic Rally: 23.-24.8. Lahti
7. SM Ralli Kitee: 4.-5.10. Kitee
Professional rally teams in Finland
Printsport Racing - https://www.printsport.fi/
TGS Motorsport - https://www.tgs.fi/
KMS Racing - https://www.kmsracing.net/
Co-Motorsport - https://www.co-motorsport.fi/home-en-us/
RTRC - https://rikutahko.com/rtrc/
RTE-Motorsport - https://www.rtemotorsport.net/english/
Photo: Taneli Niinimäki / AKK
